Batter applicator with vertically adjustable submerger or coating mechanism

ABSTRACT

A batter applicator with an adjustable coating mechanism is disclosed which includes a frame, a main batter tank, a structure comprising a submerger or an overflow structure positioned proximate the main batter tank and actuatable means for positioning the structure vertically relative to the main batter tank. The actuatable means for positioning the structure vertically relative to the main batter tank includes a rotatable shaft operably coupled to a gear box, a screw lift assembly operably coupled to the gear box and a hand wheel operably coupled to the shaft.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention is generally related to the field of foodprocessing, and, more specifically, to a batter applicator with avertically adjustable submerger or coating mechanism.

2. Description of the Related Art

A batter applicator is used to coat food products in a controlledfashion so as to provide a uniform coating for a wide range of batterviscosities. Batter applicators may be employed to apply batter to manytypes of food products, e.g., chicken, vegetables, etc. Typically, thefood is run through the batter applicator device wherein the food issubmerged in a tank of batter or passed through a curtain of batter asit passes through the batter applicator. The purpose of the submergerand the curtain of batter is to insure that the food material isthoroughly coated with the batter.

In some cases, it is desirable to change the spacing between the mainbatter tank and the submerger or mechanism used to generate the curtainof batter. For example, such adjustments may be made due to processingdifferent types of food of differing size and shape and/or usingdifferent types of batter, perhaps with differing viscosities. In priorart batter application devices, such spacing adjustments were typicallyaccomplished by manually removing or loosening four bolts (or othermechanical fasteners) that supported the submerger or curtain generatingmechanism and vertically repositioning the submerger or curtaingenerating device. Thereafter, the four bolts had to be re-insertedand/or retightened. Such a system for achieving the desired spacing wasdifficult for many reasons. For example, such a system required themachine operator to have and keep up with a separate tool for adjustingthe bolts. The operator also had to move from side to side of themachine to make the necessary adjustments. Additionally, maintaining thesubmerger or curtain device level was difficult as all four bolts had tobe adjusted equally. Moreover, using the prior art machine, such spacingadjustments were difficult to make while the machine was in use.

The present invention is directed to an apparatus for solving, or atleast reducing the effects of, some or all of the aforementionedproblems.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The following presents a simplified summary of the invention in order toprovide a basic understanding of some aspects of the invention. Thissummary is not an exhaustive overview of the invention. It is notintended to identify key or critical elements of the invention or todelineate the scope of the invention. Its sole purpose is to presentsome concepts in a simplified form as a prelude to the more detaileddescription that is discussed later.

In one illustrative embodiment, a batter applicator with an adjustablecoating mechanism is disclosed which comprises a frame, a main battertank, a structure comprising at least one of a submerger and an overflowstructure positioned proximate the main batter tank and actuatable meansfor positioning the structure vertically relative to the main battertank. In one illustrative embodiment, the actuatable means forpositioning the structure vertically relative to the main batter tankincludes a rotatable shaft operably coupled to a gear box, a screw liftassembly operably coupled to the gear box and a hand wheel operablycoupled to the shaft.

In another illustrative embodiment, the batter applicator comprises aframe, a main batter tank, a structure comprising at least one of asubmerger and an overflow structure positioned proximate the main battertank and a lifting device comprising a plurality of lift pins. Thelifting device, when actuated, is adapted to move the structurevertically relative to the main batter tank.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The invention may be understood by reference to the followingdescription taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, inwhich like reference numerals identify like elements, and in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of one illustrative embodiment of a batterapplicator in accordance with the present invention;

FIGS. 2A-2B are perspective side views of the main tank and frame of theillustrative batter applicator disclosed herein;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of an illustrative submerger that may beemployed with various embodiments of the present invention; and

FIGS. 4A-4D are various views of an illustrative lifting device that maybe employed with the present invention.

While the invention is susceptible to various modifications andalternative forms, specific embodiments thereof have been shown by wayof example in the drawings and are herein described in detail. It shouldbe understood, however, that the description herein of specificembodiments is not intended to limit the invention to the particularforms disclosed, but on the contrary, the intention is to cover allmodifications, equivalents, and alternatives falling within the spiritand scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Illustrative embodiments of the present subject matter are describedbelow. In the interest of clarity, not all features of an actualimplementation are described in this specification. It will of course beappreciated that in the development of any such actual embodiment,numerous implementation-specific decisions must be made to achieve thedevelopers' specific goals, such as compliance with system-related andbusiness-related constraints, which will vary from one implementation toanother. Moreover, it will be appreciated that such a development effortmight be complex and time-consuming, but would nevertheless be a routineundertaking for those of ordinary skill in the art having the benefit ofthis disclosure.

The present subject matter will now be described with reference to theattached figures. The words and phrases used herein should be understoodand interpreted to have a meaning consistent with the understanding ofthose words and phrases by those skilled in the relevant art. No specialdefinition of a term or phrase, i.e., a definition that is differentfrom the ordinary and customary meaning as understood by those skilledin the art, is intended to be implied by consistent usage of the term orphrase herein. To the extent that a term or phrase is intended to have aspecial meaning, i.e., a meaning other than that understood by skilledartisans, such a special definition will be expressly set forth in thespecification in a definitional manner that directly and unequivocallyprovides the special definition for the term or phrase.

FIGS. 1 and 2A-2B are perspective views of an illustrative batterapplicator apparatus 10 that may be employed in the food industry toapply batter to a food product. As will be recognized by those skilledin the art after a complete reading of the present application, thedevices disclosed herein may be employed with a variety of differentfoods, e.g., poultry and vegetables, and thus should not be consideredas limited to use with any particular type of food. Moreover, the batterapplicator 10 described herein may be employed to apply a variety ofdifferent batters to different food products.

The apparatus 10 generally comprises a frame 12, a food inlet 14, a foodoutlet 16 and a control panel 18. The apparatus 10 further comprises amain batter tank 19, an overflow tank 20, a conveyor 22, an electricmotor 24 to drive the conveyor 22 and a pump 25.

In the illustrative embodiment depicted in FIG. 1, the apparatus 10further comprises an overflow structure 26 that is adapted to provide acurtain of batter material through which the food must pass as it movesfrom the food inlet 14 to the food outlet 16. The overflow structure 26comprises a generally plate-like body 28, associated piping 30, andsupport brackets 27 coupled to the body 28. The overflow structure 26further comprises a batter inlet 31. In operation, the pump 25 is usedto supply batter to the batter inlet 31 of the overflow structure 26through a hose (not shown) that is coupled to both the pump 25 and thebatter inlet 31. Batter is supplied to the pump 25 via a hose (notshown) coupled to the overflow tank 20.

Also depicted in FIG. 1 is a support bracket 29 that is operativelycoupled to or engages a plurality of lift pins 56. The operation of thelift pins 56 will be described later. The upper surface 23 of thesupport bracket 29 is adapted to engage the underside of the supportbracket 27. The overflow structure 26 further comprises a plurality ofguides 34 having a guide hole 36 formed therein. The guides 34 areintegrally formed with or coupled to the plate-like body 28. Theapparatus 10 further comprises a plurality of guide pins 32 attached tothe frame 12. As will be described more fully below, the overflowstructure 26 is free to move vertically relative to the frame 12 of theapparatus 10. During such vertical movement, the guide pines 32 and theguides 34 maintain the overflow structure 26 in its proper horizontallocation.

Of course, those skilled in the art will understand that the particulardetails of the overflow structure 26 is provided by way of example only.Many variations as to the shape and configuration of the overflowstructure 26 are possible without deviating from the scope of thepresent invention.

The illustrative batter applicator 10 depicted in FIG. 1 is providedwith the overflow structure 26 and is designed to provide a curtain ofbatter as food passes through the apparatus 10. However, as will berecognized by those skilled in the art after a complete reading of thepresent application, the device disclosed herein may be employed toraise or lower other structures associated with a batter applicator 10.For example, FIG. 3 depicts an illustrative submerger device 40 that maybe employed with the device disclosed herein. Such submerger devices 40are well known to those skilled in the art and may have a variety ofshapes and configurations. Thus, the details of the illustrativesubmerger device 40 depicted herein should not be considered alimitation of the present invention. In some cases, multiple structures,such as the overflow structure 26 and the submerger device 40, may beraised or lowered as a single unit, or they may be raised or loweredindependently.

In general, the purpose of the submerger device 40 is to insure thatfood is submerged in the batter in the main batter tank 19 as the foodprogresses through the batter applicator 10. The illustrative submergerdevice 40 depicted herein comprises a frame 42 that is comprised offlanges 43 and a plurality of guide holes 46 formed in the flanges 43.The guide holes 46 are adapted to guidingly engage the guide pins 32(see FIG. 1) on the frame 12 of the batter applicator 10. The submergerdevice 40 further comprises an electric motor 47 adapted to drive aplurality of drive sprockets 48. The submerger device 40 furthercomprises a plurality of idler rollers 49. In operation, a belt (notshown) is positioned around the idler rollers 49 and drive sprockets 48and rotated as food passes through the batter applicator 10. This actioninsures that food is submerged in the main batter tank 19 and is fullycoated with batter.

FIGS. 4A-4D are various views of the lift device 50 of the presentinvention. The lift device 50 generally comprises a frame 51 of variousstructural members 53, a plurality of lift pins 56, having end surfaces70, an actuator device 52, e.g., a hand wheel, a shaft 55, a gear box 57and a screw lift assembly 58. Of course, the size, shape andconfiguration of the various components of the lift device 50 may varydepending upon the particular application. Thus, the illustrativedetails depicted herein for the lift device 50 should not be considereda limitation of the present invention. In one illustrative embodiment,the gear box 57 may be a miter gear box having a 1:1 gear ratio. Ofcourse, gear boxes with different gear ratios may be employed. The liftpins 32 may have any desired diameter, e.g., 0.5-1.5 inches.

As shown in FIGS. 4B and 4C, the gear box 57 and shaft 55 are operablycoupled to the frame 12. For example, the gear box 57 may be fastened toa support member 12A of the frame 12 by a plurality of mechanicalfasteners. One end of the shaft 55 may be coupled to the frame 12 via abearing flange 59, which allows the shaft 55 to rotate therein.

As shown in FIG. 4D, the center structural member 53C of the liftingdevice 50 may be operatively coupled to the screw lift assembly 58 via athreaded block 72. The threaded block 72 is coupled to the centerstructural member 53C by a plurality of mechanical fasteners 74, e.g.,screws, bolts, etc. As the screw lift assembly 58 is rotated, via theactuator device 52 and gear box 57, the frame 51 travels up or down thescrew lift assembly 58 via the engagement of the threaded block 72. Themovement of the frame 51 causes a corresponding movement of the liftpins 56. It should be understood that although an illustrative handwheel is depicted, the actuator device 52 may be a portion of a deviceor structure that is capable of causing movement of the lift pins 56.

In operation, the lift device 50 is used to raise or lower a structure,e.g., the overflow structure 26 or the submerger 40, relative to themain batter tank 19 of the batter applicator 10. In some embodiments,the end surfaces 70 of the lift pins 32 may directly engage some portionof the structures to be moved relative to the main batter tank 19, e.g.,the end surfaces 70 may engage the underside of the flanges 43 of thesubmerger 40. In the illustrative example depicted in FIG. 1, the endsurfaces 70 of the lift pins 32 engage or are attached to the bottomsurface 29A of the support brackets 29 that, in turn, engage thebrackets 27 of the overflow structure 26. The lift pins 56 extendthrough openings 39 (see FIGS. 2A-2B) formed in the frame 12 of thebatter applicator 10. Depending upon the particular application, the endsurface 70 of the lift pins 56 may only engage a portion of thestructure to be lifted, or they may actually be coupled to anotherstructure, such as the structure 29 depicted in FIG. 1. Ultimately, thelift pins 56 may directly engage the member to be lifted (as in theillustrative example employing the submerger 40) or they may indirectlyengage the structure to be lifted via a variety of intermediate members,such as the bracket 29 that engages the underside of the flanges 27 onthe overflow structure 26 as shown in FIG. 1. In the embodiment wherethe submerger device 40 is employed, the end surface 70 of the lift pins56 is adapted to engage the underside of the flanges 43 of the frame 42.Thus, when reference is made to the lift pins 56 being operativelyengaged or operatively coupled to another structure, it should beunderstood that such language is intended to cover direct couplingbetween the lift pins 56 and such a structure or indirect coupling viaone or more intermediate structures between the lift pin 56 and such astructure.

In operation, an operator of the batter applicator 10 may raise or lowera structure, e.g., the overflow structure 26 or the submerger 40, or acombination of both, relative to the main batter tank 19 by rotating thehand wheel 52. A measuring device or bracket 33 (see FIGS. 1 and 4B) isprovided to accurately determine the vertical position of the liftedstructure relative to some point of reference, e.g., the bottom of themain batter tank 19. As the hand wheel 52 is rotated, the frame 51 andlift pins 56 travel upward on the screw lift 58. In turn, the endsurfaces 70 of the lift pins 56 operative engage and cause upwardmovement of the desired device or structure, e.g., the overflowstructure 26 or the submerger 40. The guide pins 32 and guards oropenings 34, 46 act to maintain the moved structure in the desiredhorizontal position.

The particular embodiments disclosed above are illustrative only, as theinvention may be modified and practiced in different but equivalentmanners apparent to those skilled in the art having the benefit of theteachings herein. For example, the process steps set forth above may beperformed in a different order. Furthermore, no limitations are intendedto the details of construction or design herein shown, other than asdescribed in the claims below. It is therefore evident that theparticular embodiments disclosed above may be altered or modified andall such variations are considered within the scope and spirit of theinvention. Accordingly, the protection sought herein is as set forth inthe claims below.

1. A batter applicator, comprising: a frame; a main batter tank; astructure comprising at least one of a submerger and an overflowstructure that is adapted to be positioned proximate said main battertank; and actuatable means for positioning said structure verticallyrelative to said main batter tank.
 2. The batter applicator of claim 1,wherein said actuatable means for positioning said structure verticallyrelative to said main batter tank comprises a mechanical gear box. 3.The batter applicator of claim 1, wherein said actuatable means forpositioning said structure vertically relative to said main batter tankcomprises a screw lift assembly.
 4. The batter applicator of claim 1,wherein said actuatable means for positioning said structure verticallyrelative to said main batter tank comprises a hand wheel.
 5. The batterapplicator of claim 1, wherein said actuatable means for positioningsaid structure vertically relative to said main batter tank comprises arotatable shaft operably coupled to a gear box, a screw lift assemblyoperably coupled to said gear box, and a hand wheel operably coupled tosaid shaft.
 6. The batter applicator of claim 1, wherein said actuatablemeans for positioning said structure vertically relative to said mainbatter tank comprises a plurality of lift pins adapted to directlyengage said structure.
 7. The batter applicator of claim 1, wherein saidactuatable means for positioning said structure vertically relative tosaid main batter tank comprises a plurality of lift pins adapted toindirectly engage said structure.
 8. The batter applicator of claim 1,further comprising a plurality of guide pins coupled to said frame forguiding said structure as it is moved vertically.
 9. The batterapplicator of claim 8, wherein said structure further comprises aplurality of openings that are adapted to cooperate with said pluralityof guide pins.
 10. The batter applicator of claim 1, wherein saidstructure is a submerger that is comprised of a plurality of driverollers, a plurality of idler rollers, and an electric motor operativelycoupled to said plurality of drive rollers.
 11. The batter applicator ofclaim 1, wherein said structure is an overflow structure that is adaptedto create a curtain of batter, the overflow structure comprising a bodyand at least one pipe section coupled to said body.
 12. A batterapplicator, comprising: a frame; a main batter tank; a structurecomprising at least one of a submerger and an overflow structure that isadapted to be positioned proximate said main batter tank; and a liftingdevice comprising a plurality of lift pins, said lifting device, whenactuated, adapted to move said structure vertically relative to saidmain batter tank.
 13. The batter applicator of claim 12, wherein saidlifting device comprises a mechanical gear box.
 14. The batterapplicator of claim 12, wherein said lifting device comprises a screwlift assembly.
 15. The batter applicator of claim 12, wherein saidlifting device comprises a hand wheel.
 16. The batter applicator ofclaim 12, wherein said lifting device comprises a rotatable shaftoperably coupled to a gear box, a screw lift assembly operably coupledto said gear box, and a hand wheel operably coupled to said shaft. 17.The batter applicator of claim 12, wherein said lift pins are adapted todirectly engage said structure.
 18. The batter applicator of claim 12,wherein said lift pins are adapted to indirectly engage said structure.19. The batter applicator of claim 12, further comprising a plurality ofguide pins coupled to said frame for guiding said structure as it ismoved vertically.
 20. The batter applicator of claim 19, wherein saidstructure further comprises a plurality of openings that are adapted tocooperate with said plurality of guide pins.
 21. The batter applicatorof claim 12, wherein said structure is a submerger that is comprised ofa plurality of drive rollers, a plurality of idler rollers, and anelectric motor operatively coupled to said plurality of drive rollers.22. The batter applicator of claim 12, wherein said structure is anoverflow structure that is adapted to create a curtain of batter, theoverflow structure comprising a body and at least one pipe sectioncoupled to said body.
 23. A batter applicator, comprising: a main frame;a main batter tank; a structure comprising at least one of a submergerand an overflow structure that is adapted to be positioned proximatesaid main batter tank; and a lift assembly adapted to, when actuated,move said structure vertically relative to said main batter tank, saidlift assembly comprising a lifting frame, a plurality of lift pinscoupled to said lifting frame, a gear box fixedly coupled to said mainframe, a rotatable shaft operably coupled to said gear box, a hand wheeloperably coupled to said shaft, and a screw lift assembly operablycoupled to said gear box, wherein said lifting frame is operably coupledto said screw lift assembly.
 24. The batter applicator of claim 23,wherein said plurality of lift pins are adapted to directly engage saidstructure.
 25. The batter applicator of claim 23, wherein said pluralityof lift pins are adapted to indirectly engage said structure.
 26. Thebatter applicator of claim 23, further comprising a plurality of guidepins coupled to said main frame for guiding said structure as it ismoved vertically.
 27. The batter applicator of claim 26, wherein saidstructure further comprises a plurality of openings that are adapted tocooperate with said plurality of guide pins.
 28. The batter applicatorof claim 23, wherein said structure is a submerger that is comprised ofa plurality of drive rollers, a plurality of idler rollers, and anelectric motor operatively coupled to said plurality of drive rollers.29. The batter applicator of claim 23, wherein said structure is anoverflow structure that is adapted to create a curtain of batter, theoverflow structure comprising a body and at least one pipe sectioncoupled to said body.